Firsts
by best thing since cookies
Summary: A series of firsts for Lindsey where Warrick is suspiciously present. Hilarity ensues! Will have major WarrickCatherine romance! There will also be many first for Warrick and Catherine too...
1. First Period

"Not now," Lindsey muttered as she paced the bathroom. This could _not_ be happening! Every since she turned thirteen and her friend Casey had gotten her period, she had been anticipating it. On the one day that it absolutely could NOT happen, it does. Plus,with the pains in her abdomen, she wasn't so sure she wanted a period.

There was a knock on the door. "Hey Linds! Are you okay in there?" Warrick's voice floated through the door.

Catherine had to go to a conference and would be gone all day, her grandma was out of town visiting a pregnant aunt so Warrick, Nick and Sara had volunteered to take her for the day. They had a fabulous day planned. Unfortunately, Sara and Nick had gone out for some special "surprise". Yeah right...they just wanted to makeout without a curious thirteen-year-old watching.

"Go away!" Lindsey called when Warrick knocked on the door again.

Warrick stopped knocking and frowned. "Lindsey, what's going on?"

Lindsey sat down on the toilet and buried her face in her hands. The toilet paper that she had stuffed in her panties was making sitting down very uncomfortable, but she didn't care.

"Lindsey, I'm going to come in okay?" Warrick said.

Lindsey looked up in alarm. "Don't!"

Warrick paused. "Are you decent?"

Lindsey paused in her teenage anguish to smirk. "No! I'm naked!"

She sounded serious and a little panicked so Warrick decided not to go in. _Why_ would she lock herself in the bathroom and sound so panicked? Warrick paused to think about it, and the conclusion he came to made him shake his head and back away from the door. He looked around as if something would jump out of the shadows and help him. "Is it--" Warrick cleared his throat awkwardly. "Is it that...thing?"

Lindsey looked up at the ceiling. This was so not happening. "Yes!"

Warrick shut his eyes tight. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. He faced horrific things every time he goes to work. What's a thirteen-year-old with her first period? "Uh, do you have the appropriate...products?"

Lindsey blew out a breath. "I think my mom might have some in her bathroom, but you're going to have to go look because I'm not coming out of this bathroom."

Sighing in defeat, Warrick walked down the hall, through Catherine's bedroom and into her bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet, raised his eyebrows at the unopened box of condoms and shut it. He then looked under the sink where a box of tampons sat. He grabbed it and looked inside...empty. Crap.

He made his way back through the house. "Uh Linds? I'm gonna call your mom...there's no ummm products in her bathroom."

Lindsey rolled her eyes. He would probably call Grissom and Sara too.

She was right. All he got from Catherine was her voicemail, which he expected. After leaving her a frantic message, he called Nick and Sara's cell phones, but there was no answer there. Finally, he called Grissom.

"Grissom," Grissom said into the phone, trying not to let whoever was on the other end know that he'd been sleeping.

"Grissom, we have a little situation here," Warrick said nervously.

Grissom sat up and grabbed his glasses off the nightstand. "Did something happen with Lindsey?" he asked worriedly.

"...In a sense," Warrick said carefully.

"Well what is it?" Grissom asked, ready to go over there if needed.

"She got her first period," Warrick choked out.

There was a long pause. "Is that it?" Grissom asked.

"Catherine doesn't have the right stuff for her to fix the problem!"

"It's not a problem Warrick. It's a girl's first period...go to the store and get her what she needs," he ordered.

He knew it would come to that. That was just his luck. "Fine," Warrick said begrudgingly.

"Goodbye Warrick." Grissom smirked as he hung up. Catherine was going to be so happy, but he did feel a little sorry for Warrick. He laid back down and drifted back to sleep, thinking about how fast Lindsey was growing up.

Warrick knocked on the door again. "Lindsey, are you going to come with me to the store?" he asked.

"No! I'm not coming out of this bathroom!" she shouted.

Warrick counted to ten. "Okay. I'm going to lock all the doors and take your key from your backpack, okay?"

"Whatever," Lindsey muttered. Louder, she said, "Sure. Go."

Warrick grabbed Lindsey's keys, locked the door and got into his car. He drove to a nearby supermarket. He walked the aisles until he came to the correct one. "Damn. How many different kinds of this stuff can a girl need?" he asked no one in particular.

A girl of about seventeen or so gave him a dirty look and grabbed a box of tampons. "Excuse me sir."

Warrick turned to a woman of about forty. "Your daughter's first period?" she asked simpethetically.

Not bothering to correct her, Warrick nodded. "Do you think she'll prefer tampons or pads?" she asked, scanning the shelves with her well-trained eye.

"I don't know," Warrick admitted.

The woman smiled. "Here. Pads with wings are preferred by first-timers. This box of tampons is for beginners and it shows them how and all that."

Warrick smiled at the woman. "Thank you so much," he said sincerely.

"It's not every day you see a dad in here picking out feminine products for their daughters. It's really sweet. I think you've made my day."

Warrick nodded. "Thank you again, but I really gotta go..." She nodded and waved. He checked out with minimal embarassment and a knowing smile from the elderly woman working.

When he got back to the house, he knocked on the bathroom door. "Here Lindsey. There are instructions and everything." The door opened just enough for Lindsey's hand to reach out and snatch the bag.

Warrick sighed with relief. He was sooo glad that that was over.

_Later that night_

Catherine held her stomach in laughter as Lindsey told her the tale. She was laughing so hard! Warrick sat nearby sulking. Since going through that with him, Lindsey decided she wasn't embarassed to talk about such things in front of him.

"It wasn't funny," Warrick insisted, "There was a teenage girl who was _glaring_ at me in that store!"

Catherine made an effort to contain her laughter. "I've been preparing for this day for years and you helped me see--" she broke off laughing, "the funny side of my baby growing up!"

Lindsey stood up with a wince. "Mom, the tampons hurt."

Warrick held out his hand. "Whoa. I'm gonna go now and leave you to your...talk."

Catherine waved at him. Lindsey blew him a kiss which he caught and put in his pocket. He kissed her on top of her head. "Don't grow up too fast, Linds," he whispered.

She laughed and waved him off. "Until you can't pick me up anymore," she promised in her own little way.

Catherine watched the exchange fondly. "Lindsey, it's getting late and you need to get in bed. Warrick, weren't you leaving."

Warrick jerked his head at her. "I see how it is," he said, winking at Lindsey.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "You're keeping my child awake! Lindsey stop laughing and give me a kiss!" While she was hugging her daughter, Warrick waved and let himself out.

"You are one of a kind baby," Catherine whispered to her daughter as she kissed her.

"I know," Lindsey said cheekily.

Catherine shook her head and sat back. Her baby was growing up!

END

A/N-So this is going to be a series of firsts for Lindsey. There will definitely be some Warrick/Catherine romance...Lindsey's first school dance is next!


	2. First Dance

A/N-The first part isn't the dance...it's getting ready for the dance and all that. This part is pretty much a late Halloween thing because it's a Halloween dance!

First Dance

Warrick glared down at Catherine, trying to be intimidating. Right, like that would happen. "Catherine. No." He looked her in the eyes and tried to relay his seriousness.

Catherine looked down at her watch impatiently. "Yes, Warrick. Please...the dance is tonight and she doesn't even have anything to wear!"

Warrick shrugged it off. "It's a costume party, Cath. Borrow a lab coat, pop some lenses out of some glasses, and poof: insta-doctor."

Catherine gave him a look that clearly said _yeah right_. "There's a guy Lindsey likes...she wants to be a fairy or an angel...or a princess. Don't ask. Mom bought her a cute little mini-me outfit, but she refused."

"What's wrong with being you?" Warrick asked, hoping to steer her off course and slip out while she was distracted.

Catherine shrugged. "To conservative."

Warrick's eyes automatically went to the cleavage that her blouse showed and she rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I didn't say anything!" Warrick laughed.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "_Anyway_. I have to cover for Gris at some conference. Ecklie stressed how important it was to make a good impression. It's pretty dressy so I'll be able to go from there straight to the dance. I'm one of the chaperones and I need you do that 'til I get there."

Warrick sighed. "What's in it for me?" he demanded.

Catherine smiled innocently. "The company of my lovely daughter and of course I'll be coming to the dance later and then..." she winked, "...you can hand her over to me!"

That startled a laugh out of Warrick. Catherine was such a vixen! He knew he would live to regret it but..."Okay, okay, I'll do it."

Catherine straightened up. "Great. Here's my credit card. Pick her up, feed her, take her to the mall. Don't let her talk you into anything too expensive or revealing. Take her home, help her curl her hair, and _do not_ let her wear too much makeup. The dance starts at six. Be sure to bring a stick to beat the boys off. School's out in ten minutes." She left before he could realize what he had gotten himself into.

"You want me to help her curl her hair?" Warrick asked the now empty room.

**The School**

Lindsey stared at Warrick. "You're kidding, right?" she asked fearfully.

Warrick shook his head solemnly. "Nope. I'm here to take you to get a costume and then to the dance."

The teen groaned and climbed into the Denali. "Why me?" she asked no one in particular.

"I've been asking myself the same question," Warrick informed her as he put the vehicle in gear.

They rode in relative silence until Warrick finally broke it. "What do you want to eat?" he asked.

"Chicken," she said almost before he could get the question out. Warrick raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

They feasted on chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn. There was a minor mishap when Warrick spilled hot gravy in his lap while he was driving, but they made it to the mall in one piece.

Then Warrick had to stop and check out some tools...which threw Lindsey off a little until she saw that he wasn't really checking out tools but the hot blonde that was looking at grills. "How about I go on to the costumes and you can stay here with your...tools."

Warrick reluctantly pulled himself away from the "tools". "Naw, I'll come with."

Lindsey huffed and glared at everyone they passed. It looked perfectly normal to everyone: a typical teenage girl angry at her dad for something or another. All the clothing shops had plenty of costumes and they stopped at everyone. There were always some that Lindsey would stop and squeal over, but Warrick would have to deny her because of the shortness of the skirts or the neck-line of the tops. She would give him evil glares when he jokingly suggested other costumes...until they came to one they both agreed on.

"How 'bout this one, Linds?" Warrick asked, holding it up for her inspection.

She didn't look up from the rack of clothes she was looking through. "I'm not going to be a nun, 'Rick," she informed him.

"Lindsey, just look at it," Warrick ordered.

She looked up and gasped. "It's perfect!" she squealed.

Warrick checked out the price and winced. "Alright, let's go pay for it." He didn't use Catherine's credit card but his own.

"Can I get some shoes and some earrings too?" Lindsey asked excitedly. For the past hour, she had been nothing but grumbles and glares, but now she was all bubbly and excited.

"Sure. Why not?" He would use Cath's card for that.

**Catherine's House**

"Son of a--" Warrick stuck his finger in his mouth for the tenth time that evening. It was already six and he was using hot rollers to curl Lindsey's hair. He kept sticking his finger in the hot part where the metal heated up to melt the wax inside and would shout in pain before continuing with what he was doing.

Lindsey ignored him and continued putting the lip gloss on. She was wearing light pink eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, and lip gloss. Warrick wasn't sure what she was and wasn't allowed to wear so he just decided to trust her. "Are you done yet?" she asked impatiently. She had rolled the front part of her hair and left Warrick to do the back. He couldn't mess it up too bad...it was simple.

"Almost--there! Done at last," he said smugly.

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Right. Well spray it with the glitter and hair spray." Warrick did so obediently, trying not to cough.

Lindsey stood up. "Thanks. I'm going to put on my costume now."

Warrick watched her as she walked out of her mother's room. He plopped down on Catherine's bed and thought about his day. It wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be, but that wasn't really saying much. Maybe his past experiences--well _experience as in singular_ had made him a little afraid of being around Lindsey. The period thing was not something he wanted to repeat!

"Warrick, can you zip this?" Lindsey asked.

Warrick blinked and realized Lindsey was standing with her back to him. He sat up and zipped the dress so that no skin or bra was showing. It hit him how easily he did that without embarassment or anything. He shook it off and watched as Lindsey put her new small silver hoops in her ears. "Do you think I could convince mom to let me get my ears pierced again?" she asked, studying herself critically in the mirror. "Help me put the wings on."

Warrick stood up and helped her put the fairy wings on. She was a fairy princess. Her long, flowing purple dress had little purple wings and a rhinestone tiara. All that needed to be done at the point would be to take the curlers out, respray her hair with hairspray and put on the tiara.

When six forty rolled around, they did exactly that. The end result was beautiful. In the bright lighting of the room, Lindsey's blonde hair glowed and sparkled and she looked more like a young lady than a little girl. Warrick shook his head. "Well come on then," he said.

Lindsey raised her eyebrows at him. "What are you going as?"

**The School Auditorium**

Warrick rolled his eyes when someone asked him what he was supposed to be for about the millionth time (okay about the fifth). "A crime scene investigator."

They would stare at him blankly before saying, "I don't get it." He was dresses in what he had gone shopping with Lindsey in...just normal every day wear.

"You're supposed to be chaperoning," an upset teacher said, "Those kids are over there kissing!"

Warrick looked over, saw it wasn't Lindsey, and shrugged. "It's a dance." A very awkward dance at that. All the kids just sort of stood around until this one group of kids started dancing. Then everyone joined in. Lindsey would dance with her friends or any guy that asked her, but Warrick did happen to notice her looking longingly at one boy in particular who wasn't dancing at all.

"Hey handsome."

"Hey Cath," Warrick said, silently taking in everything about the boy. He looked like a snot-nosed kid to Warrick, but that couldn't be what Lindsey saw in him so he continued to study the young boy. He was around Lindsey's age, blonde hair, brown eyes, braces, and he had a really big smile. He looked nice enough.

Catherine followed Warrick's line of sight. "That's Jake Samson...the crush." She decided if Warrick's stare got any more intense that the boy would burst into flames. "So Lindsey looks great...fairy princess. Very hot."

That brought Warrick out of his thoughts. "She's not--" his protest died in his throat when he saw Catherine's dress. It was low-cut and black but not too inapropriate to wear at a junior high dance. Her red hair was wavy and very sexy. "She's cute," Warrick said weakly.

Catherine smirked. "Mmmhmm. That's why she has all the guys' attention."

Warrick's eyes snapped back to the dance floor where Lindsey was slow dancing with a snot nosed kid that wasn't Jake Samson and that was trying to subtly move his hands to her butt. Warrick grabbed Catherine's hand and dragged her over to where Lindsey and the kid were dancing. "Hands on the hips and no lower," Warrick growled at the boy.

Wide eyed, the kid moved his hands back up and kept them there throughout the rest of the song. Catherine watched it all with a smile as she thought about how angry Lindsey would've been if it was her that had done that. She watched them even as Warrick pulled her into dance so that he could keep a closer eye on Lindsey without seeming too obvious. Lindsey had given Warrick a small smile when he had told the kid off.

Warrick figured out the exact moment the dance turned from one of convenience to something more. Catherine's head was resting on his chest and they were swaying a little through a couple more slow songs before something faster came on. They reluctantly pulled away.

"You're really great with Lindsey," Catherine said as they walked off the dance floor.

"She's a great kid," Warrick replied absently, trying to put a little distance between them.

She ignored his attempts and grabbed his hand. "I mean it, 'Rick. This means a lot to us both. That's why you're going to go out there and get a dance in with her."

Warrick snorted. "She would be too embarassed."

Catherine shook her head. "I've been here for a little while and I've seen some fathers out there dancing with their daughters!" As soon as she said it, she wished she could take it back.

Those beautiful eyes were staring at her, so sad yet so happy and filled with hope. "I'm not her dad, Cath."

Catherine looked away guiltily. It was breif, very breif, but she had actually managed to forget that for a split second. He had been there for so much that sometimes she forgot things like that. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I really didn't mean to--"

Warrick shook his head. "No need. I'm gonna go out there and get my dance though."

Catherine watched as her daughter and the guy she...what? Loved? Liked? yes, liked, danced. It was so sweet that she dug the camera she had conveniently forgot to put back in the lab out of her purse and snapped some great pictures.

By the time ten o'clock rolled around, the kids were winding down and they played the last slow song. Warrick was lightly dozing in a chair when Catherine suddenly grabbed his arm. He sat up and looked around frantically. "What?" he demanded when he saw no danger.

"Look," she said, pointing. Lindsey had finally got her dance with the padless football player. Catherine brought the camera back out.

"You do know you're not actually supposed to take that for your personal use, right?" Warrick asked amusedly.

"Shut up," Catherine growled jokingly as she sent him a mock-glare.

He laughed it off as they last few verses of the song came and went. "Finally," he said happily.

Lindsey bounded up with sparkling eyes. "Hey mom!" she greeted happily.

"Hey baby," Catherine said, kissing her on the forehead. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!"

Warrick watched them warmly. "I gotta get home. Here's your credit card Catherine and I bid you ladies goodnight." He to Lindsey and kissed her hand before turning to Catherine. She was watching him with something akin to trepidation and he had to laugh.

Lindsey watched the two closely. Her mom's eyes fluttered shut when Warrick reached over and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight," he whispered in her ear before pulling away.

Same as before, Lindsey blew him a kiss and he caught it and put it in his pocket before giving her one last grin. He left without any more talk or anything.

Catherine turned to her daughter. "Ready?" Lindsey nodded and they headed out.

Sometimes things worked out. Hopefully, this would be one of these cases.

END

A/N-This one was more fluff than anything. I hope I didn't get anyone too out of character! I don't really know how dances work. My first school dance was in seventh grade and it was like I explained it only a little more awkward. This year at school we celebrated Halloween the Friday before Halloween so that we could do fun stuff.


	3. First Minor Heartbreak

A/N-Rissa, I didn't get that site for Cath-Warrick-Linds fics...send it to me in an email This one is about Lindsey's first minor heartbreak...there will be a first major heartbreak at some point in the future. I fixed the errors in the previous chap and read over this one so that (hopefully) there isn't any errors! alwayswrite05-I had made a list of the things I was going to write about right before I read your review and all of those are on it! lol.

**_First Minor Heartbreak_**

Warrick grumbled under his breath as he rolled over and glared in the general direction of the door. Someone was knocking on his door at...he looked over at the clock. It was noon, but he had just gotten to sleep. Dragging himself out of bed, he stomped to the door. "What?" he said.

Lindsey stood there with Catherine who looked like death warmed over. She hadn't got any sleep either, but Lindsey had wanted to go to Warrick's. She had her ways of persuading (like banging on a pot with a wooden spoon while Catherine was trying to sleep) so she had gotten her keys and driven over to Warrick's apartment. The sight of Warrick in Sponge Bob boxers and nothing else may've just been worth it.

"Hi," Lindsey said after the initial shock wore off, "We brought movies and popcorn." She held up the bag of movies and the small box of popcorn.

Warrick moaned. "Don't you know that I haven't had any sleep?" he asked, "And I don't think your mom has either!"

Lindsey smiled, unfazed. "Let us in and you might be able to get some sleep," she said.

He silently stepped aside and allowed them entrance. "Sorry," Catherine muttered as she walked by, "But Lindsey needs this I suppose."

Lindsey hadn't ever been to Warrick's apartment and was looking around for the tv. "The tv and everything is in my room." Warrick answered her unasked question.

She set off to find his room. Warrick turned to Catherine. "What's going on?"

She blinked at him. "What?" she asked blankly.

"You said she needed this," Warrick reminded her.

She nodded in understanding. "You remember that boy from the dance? The one she had a crush on that danced the last dance with her?" She waited for Warrick's nod before continuing. "Well it was pretty obvious he seemed to like her...I mean he didn't dance the entire time until that last dance with Lindsey. She approached him at school and they talked for a little bit when her best friend, Nicole, came up. They started making out right in front of her and she was pretty crushed. She was crying when I left her with mom last night and this morning she was like...sunshine and smiles."

Warrick nodded thoughtfully. Lindsey was a strong girl. Through Eddie's death, she was so strong and brave...a crush on a boy wouldn't be able to bring her down for too long. "What movies did ya'll bring?" Warrick asked as he walked to his bedroom.

Catherine followed. "Chick flicks," she said as if that were obvious.

When Warrick got into his room, he spotted himself in the mirror and blushed. Why hadn't they said anything about his state of dress? He grabbed some pajama pants and a t-shirt. "I'll be right back," he said to the two ladies.

"Hey Warrick!" Warrick turned around and automatically caught the box of popcorn that was thrown at him. "Pop us some corn," Lindsey ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Warrick said smartly. He put on some clothes first and then popped two of the four bags of popcorn.

He walked into his room with three cokes and the bowl of popcorn. He paused and smiled. Catherine was laying in the middle of his bed with Lindsey on her left. The picture was very family-esque. Warmth spread through him as he watched them.

"Warrick, are you just going to stand there or are you gonna join us?" Lindsey asked with raised eyebrows.

Warrick walked over to the bed and plopped down. He ate a handful of popcorn before passing the bowl to Lindsey along with her coke. "Here Cath," he offered her a coke.

She shook her head sleepily. "I might drink it later," she said.

Warrick nodded and set both his and Catherine's cokes on his nightstand. "So what are we watching?" he asked, laying down and putting his arms behind his head.

"50 First Dates," Lindsey answered, pressing play on the remote and turning off the lamp on her side of the bed. Due to the dark curtains, it was pretty dark in the room.

Fifteen or twenty minutes into the movie, both Catherine and Warrick were asleep. Lindsey watched them sleep, thinking how cute they looked. Catherine was laying on her right side, her left arm thrown over his stomach. Her hair was in Warrick's face and her head was resting on his shoulder, his left arm having somehow made it around her.

Lindsey pulled out her camera phone and took a few pictures. She sent them to Sara, Nick, and Greg. She hesitated to send them to Grissom but she did so anyway. Then she got up to look around. The living room had a couch, a recliner and a big set of cupboards. She opened one and rolled her eyes. There was a big tv right there.

"Big fat liar," she muttered, "You just wanted to go to sleep." _'Or get my mom into your bed.'_ Lindsey laughed at that thought.

She decided to let them sleep and watch chick flicks alone in the living room. Her thoughts drifted from her mom and Warrick to herself and Jake Samson. How could Nicole do this to her? She _knew_ how much Lindsey liked Jake! And Jake! She thought he liked her! After the dance...she sighed miserably. Now she was miserable _and_ she had a Beach Boys song stuck in her head!

Ice cream was needed. She searched Warrick's fridge with slight disgust. There was a bunch of really old left-overs, but there was no ice cream. She threw all the left over food away and went back into Warrick's room. She grabbed a five dollar bill out of her mom's purse and decided to walk down to the store that was just a block away.

**5:33 p.m.**

Catherine woke up slowly. Without opening her eyes, she thought that the arms around her felt great. Then she frowned. Whose arms? She opened her eyes and looked up. Well then. How did she get into this situation?

Oh yeah. Lindsey had dragged her over here and she had obviously fallen asleep and ended up in...Warrick's arms. She carefully extracted herself from his embrace and got up. Lindsey wasn't in the room so Catherine walked into the living room.

There was an empty pint of Ben&Jerry's Double Fudge Brownie ice cream sitting on the coffee table. Lindsey was curled up on the couch sleeping. Catherine shook her. "Hey Linds," she said softly.

Coming out of sleep was slow for Lindsey. She had cried herself to sleep again over a stupid boy. "Where's 'Rick?" she asked groggily.

If Catherine thought it was odd that the first thing Lindsey asked for was Warrick, she didn't say anything. "He's still sleeping, but I have to get home and take a shower before work."

"Don't you think we need to wake him up? I mean, maybe he won't wake up in time for work," Lindsey said worriedly. She felt bad about interrupting the two adults' sleep for her own selfish purposes.

Catherine thought about it. She didn't really want to be the one to wake him up after spending the day sleeping in his arms. "Tell you what. You go wake him up and I'll wait here."

Lindsey rolled her eyes at her mom's embarassment and did as she was told.

Warrick was brought out of his sleep by a small finger poking him in the rib. "Stop it," he snapped, turning and burrying his face in his pillow.

Lindsey giggled and poked him again. He grabbed her and rolled over, holding her in place as he tried to go back to sleep.

Catherine was standing in the doorway smiling widely. She had come back to see how Lindsey was progressing in waking Warrick up. Apparently not too well.

"Warrick," Lindsey sing-songed, "You have to get uuuuup!"

Warrick sighed, finally giving up. "Okay, I'm up." He didn't move though.

"And me and mom have to go cuz she needs to take a shower," Lindsey said.

"I have a shower," Warrick mumbled.

"And you need to use it," Lindsey joked.

"We can both use it," he said, still half-asleep.

"Warrick," Lindsey squealed, "That's gross!"

Warrick chuckled. "And that Jake kid is gross."

Catherine quietly slipped away before she could get any more embarassed.

Lindsey elbowed Warrick in the ribs. He let go and rolled over. "That kid is nothing, Linds," Warrick said without opening his eyes, "You need someone who will dance every dance with you and who can stand me chasing them away every chance I get."

_'How could a person be so philosophical when they're half-asleep?'_ Lindsey thought. "Warrick, I'm fine."

Warrick opened his eyes and sat up. "Then why were you crying earlier?"

"You were awake?" Lindsey asked.

Warrick smiled. "I can be sneaky."

"And you didn't even wake mom up. Wow."

Catherine took a chance and walked back. "Lindsey, we really need to go."

Lindsey made a face. "Alright-y then. Warrick, maybe next time." Warrick gave her a confused look and she jerked her head in her mom's direction and mouth _shower_.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah right." Lindsey blew him a kiss and he grinned. "Bye Cath, see you at work."

Catherine waved. "Yeah. See you."

**Work**

Catherine came in at almost the same time as Warrick and they got some pretty strange looks. When they walked into the breakroom, Nick smirked. "Hey guys," he said casually.

Catherine and Warrick looked at each other. "Hey Nicky." "Hey Nick," they both greeted.

Nick grinned widely and Catherine got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "What?" she asked carefully. He just shrugged and continued grinning.

They pushed it off and Catherine went into her office. There were pictures of her and Warrick sleeping plastered all over the office. "Oh my...I am going to kill her," she muttered.

Warrick walked into the office right behind her and his jaw dropped. "Lindsey," he groaned.

END

A/N-This was more for the Catherine/Warrick than anything. This is such a fun series and I'm really enjoying writing it. Thank you all for your positive reviews! Remember to keep reviewing!


	4. First Date

**First Date**

All night, Nick had been grinning and it was driving Warrick insane! Finally, when they were in the lab, Warrick straightened from the microscope and glared at Nick. "What?" he snapped.

Nick continued grinning. "So you and Cath got some kind of custody arrangement going on with Linds?" he asked knowingly.

Warrick rolled his eyes. "Hahaha. Sometimes she comes to my apartment to hang out. It's no big deal."

"On the contrary, my dense friend, it is a big deal. You're getting close to the daughter, sleeping with the mother..." Nick smirked.

"Yeah, emphasis on sleeping," Warrick said, "And it was once. We were both exhausted and fell asleep watching a movie." It had been three weeks and everyone was still making cracks about him and Cath "sleeping" together.

Nick was surveying the evidence while they talked. "You looked pretty close in those pictures," he said, reaching over and pulling a hair out of the stitching of the shirt.

Warrick rolled his eyes. "Whatever." It was true. They _had_ gotten really close. Lindsey had gotten a stern talking to and a long tickling for showing everyone just how close.

"Anyway, I heard you're going with Lindsey for her first date tonight."

Warrick gave him a suspicious look. "Now how do you know that?" he demanded.

Nick didn't look up from where he was preparing the hair to find DNA. "I have my sources," he said vaguely.

"Sara," Warrick groaned, "Cath told her and she told you. Figures."

"Hey, I think it's cute. Dinner and the movies...just you, Lindsey, her date, and Catherine." Nick finally looked up and smiled wickedly. "And me, Sara, Greg and Grissom'll be one table over and sitting at the back of the theater."

Of course they would. Warrick wouldn't have expected anything less from Lindsey's 'family'.

"So who is this boy anyway? Maybe he has a criminal record," Nick said.

"Naw, I already checked. He's clean." Warrick smirked when Nick opened his mouth to say somethine else. "Family's clean too."

**Later...getting ready for the date**

"I feel like I'm the one going on the date," Warrick said uncomfortably. He was sitting on Catherine's bed with a dejected look on his face. He was dressed casually, it was only dinner and a movie after all.

Catherine laughed. "It looks good on you," she joked.

"What does?" Warrick asked, looking down at his choice of dress.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Over-protectiveness of my daughter," she said as if Warrick was dim-witted. He sure felt like it.

"She's too young to be going on dates," he grumbled.

Catherine hid a grin as she put some light makeup on and looked at herself in the mirror. "Do these jeans make me look fat?" she asked dramatically.

"Wha--no!" Warrick stuttered, not knowing how to answer that. He saw Catherine's sparkling eyes and rolled his eyes. "You're mean."

Lindsey ran in. "Mom!" she yelled.

Warrick's eyes widened. Lindsey was wearing a white padded bra and pajama pants and not much else. "Lindsey," he said, his voice higher than usual.

Lindsey ignored him. "Mom, I can't find anything to wear!" she shrieked.

Catherine put her hands over her ears mockingly. "Baby, calm down. What was wrong with the outfit we bought?" she asked worriedly, taking her hands away from her ears.

"I can't wear a skirt! It's just dinner and a movie and I need to be casual," Lindsey said, panicking slightly.

Warrick was staring at the ceiling with a blush staining his dark cheeks. "Lindsey, it doesn't matter what you wear. It just matters that you're there."

"Oh he's a rhymer," Catherine jeered jokingly.

"So if I went like this, it would be okay?" Lindsey asked.

Warrick's eyes snapped back to Lindsey's shirtless form. "No!" he protested.

"It's Vegas baby. I don't think people will think much of it," Catherine said seriously.

"Are you talking to me or him?" Lindsey asked. Catherine just shrugged. At first, she was pretty upset at the thought of her sweet little baby going on a date and growing up too fast, but now that Warrick was there freaking out, she was fine.

Warrick sighed and stood up. "Come on then. Let's go pick out some clothes for you baby girl." He paused at the door and turned around to see mother and daughter staring at him. "What? So I can buy you feminine products and girly costumes and do the comfort thing but I can't help you pick out clothes for your first date?"

Catherine bit her lip to keep from grinning and Lindsey shrugged. "It's just a little weird," she said carefully.

"Fine," Warrick said, moving to sit back down.

Lindsey grabbed his arm. "Come on then," she said, mimicking his earlier words.

He followed her to her room and stood there awkwardly. She motioned to her closet. "Go ahead." He opened the door with some trepidation.

Warrick studied the clothes without touching anything. Finally, he reached in and grabbed a pair of low-rise jeans and a v-neck short-sleeved red blouse. "It's cute and casual," he explained.

Lindsey eyed the outfit critically. "I'll wear the jeans, but not the shirt." She reached in and grabbed a spaghetti strapped low-cut brown blouse. She pulled it on. "Okay, you can get out now."

Warrick gladly obliged. Ten minutes later, Lindsey came out and Catherine whistled at her. "Sexy," Catherine called loudly as the bell rang.

Warrick answered after a few seconds of coaxing by Catherine and Lindsey. There was a nervous looking boy that was about six feet tall. The only reason Warrick didn't slam the door in his face was because of his baby-ish face. At first, the boy looked much older than he actually was. "Hi," Warrick said with a fake smile, "You must be Lindsey's date."

The boy's big blue eyes widened. "Y-Yes. I'm Tyler Brooks," he said, hesitantly holding out his hand.

Warrick took it and shook it firmly. "I'm Warrick Brown," he said and moved aside to allow the frightened boy access.

Before he could go into the living room where Lindsey and Catherine were, Warrick grabbed Tyler's arm. "I don't know if Lindsey told you what her mom does for a living, but we are both crime scene investigators...we catch the bad guys because of the clues that are left behind. Remember that we _know_ how to kill without leaving evidence." Poor Tyler looked like he was about to wet himself so Warrick let him proceed into the living room.

Dinner went by quickly with a lot of awkward silences from their table and a lot of laughter from the next table. They finally decided to leave when Tyler accidentally spilled his drink all over Lindsey. Warrick gave her his jacket which she took graciously. Anger and indignation may have crossed her mind, but she pushed it away and decided to just enjoy the rest of the night.

When they got to the movie theater, Lindsey was dismayed to discover that the team had also went to the movies. She sat in the back with Tyler. Warrick and Catherine sat a couple of rows in front of them, and Nick and Sara sat to one side of Lindsey and Tyler and Greg and Grissom sat on the other.

Lindsey sighed as the movie started. She was really glad that she had people that cared about her, but this was _so_ overkill. The date had showed that she didn't like Tyler as much as she had originally thought, but that didn't stop her from wanting to do something outrageous. "Hey Tyler," she whispered.

He turned to her hopefully. "Yeah, Lindsey?"

"These people surrounding us work with my mom," she said softly. The fear that filled his eyes confused her, but she continued anyway. "And I want to do something..." She explained it and he hesitantly agreed.

Nick watched as the two teens talked quietly. He stiffened when Lindsey giggled and laced her fingers with Tyler's.

Grissom observed the two silently and Greg was too engrossed in the movie to pay too much attention. Sara thought it was cute. Warrick was tense and Catherine was just worried that Warrick would kill the boy.

Another, louder, giggle came from Lindsey and she kissed Tyler on the cheek. When they got up to walk out of the theater, Greg, in an act of childishness, tripped Tyler. He fell on Lindsey and they both hit the floor.

All Warrick saw was a boy on top of Lindsey. He jumped up and Catherine grabbed his hand. "Warrick," she warned even though she was quite angry too.

"Get off of me," Lindsey whispered, "Why did you do that?"

"That guy tripped me," Tyler said defensively as he pushed himself up off of Lindsey.

Lindsey stood up with a flushed face to see some angry glares. "We weren't doing anything wrong," she squeaked.

Every person in the theater (which was about five or six people) turned their attention away from the movie to the drama unfolding before them.

The hand in Warrick's went from restraining to cutting off his circulation. "What exactly were you doing?" Catherine asked dangerously.

"Playing," Lindsey said with all the indignation of a wrongly-accused teen.

"You were..._playing_," Warrick stated with wide eyes.

"Not like that!" Tyler protested, shaking his head frantically. "Linds was..."

"We don't have to explain ourselves!" Lindsey said, "This is our date, not an excuse for you to cuddle with mom!"

Catherine became aware of their interlaced fingers and quickly extracted her hand.

"Umm," Greg said. Everyone's eyes turned to him and he gulped. "I tripped the boy. It wasn't their fault."

Everyone looked at Grissom and he nodded. "He did."

Lindsey glared at them all and stomped out of the room.

"I-I'm gonna call my mom," Tyler muttered and made a hasty retreat.

Catherine groaned. "I think we just ruined my daughter's first date," she said miserably.

"She'll get over it," Warrick said confidently. "It was an honest mistake."

Sara nudged Nick with her elbow. "We're gonna go..." she said.

Greg nodded enthusiastically. "Me too."

Grissom shrugged. "I'm going too."

Catherine sighed and sat down. "Hey Warrick, since this is your excuse to cuddle with me..."

Warrick gave her a dirty look. "We weren't cuddling! There was no cuddling at all whatsoever!"

Lindsey walked back into the theater and sat over by her mom. "You can cuddle with me since you sent Tyler home," she said, batting her eyelashes.

Warrick sighed. "You're never gonna let this go are you?" he asked.

She pretended to think about it. "No," she said finally, "Unless you buy me ice cream. Then I might."

Warrick sat down on the other side of Lindsey and put his arm on the back of Lindsey's seat. "What are we watching anyway?" he asked, absent-mindedly playing with Catherine's hair.

"Dreamer," Lindsey answered. "We already missed over half of it. I want to go get that ice cream."

Warrick looked over at Catherine who shrugged. "Okay, I'll buy you ice cream," Warrick said, "But then you have to forgive me."

Lindsey thought about it. "Okay. Tyler's too nice for me anyway. I think next I'm gonna get a gothic boyfriend."

"He wasn't your boyfriend," Catherine pointed out, "They aren't your boyfriends until they ask you if they can be. He just asked for a date."

Lindsey shrugged. "Or maybe I'll get a stoner."

Warrick shook his head. "I think you should wait to get a boyfriend," he offered his opinion hopefully.

Lindsey just stood up. "Ice cream!"

There wasn't any way that Warrick would be able to convince her that she was too young for things like boyfriends and dates. Maybe he could bribe her...she seemed to really like ice cream.

Shaking his head at his own thoughts, he stood up and offered Catherine a hand up. "You heard the girl. Let's go get us some ice cream."

END

A/N-That turned out a little different than I originally thought it would, but that's okay. I didn't go to school today so I got to spend the day writing...and reading...and watching tv...and listening to music. Yeah then I had to fold a ping-pong table full of clothes!


	5. First Boyfriend

FIRST BOYFRIEND

Warrick groaned. He just knew who was on the phone before he even looked at the caller id. "Lindsey, you know I need my beauty rest," he said as a greeting.

"Warrick," said a stuffed up Lindsey, "Me and mom are really sick..."

Warrick sighed. "How sick?" he asked resignedly.

"Mom's got a blanket and a pillow and she's sleeping in front of the toilet. I haven't really reached that point yet," she said, looking over at her mom's sleeping form.

Warrick was already pulling on his jacket and heading out the door. "I'll be there in a sec," he said and hung up.

Lindsey looked down at the cordless phone in her hands. "Rude," she muttered miserably.

After making a quick stop at a store, Warrick was standing on Catherine's doorstep with several cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. He knocked on the door and a pale shivering Lindsey answered immediately. Warrick automatically pressed his hand to Lindsey's forehead. She was burning up. "Child, you need to get to bed," he ordered, moving to the thermostat and turning it up a couple of degrees.

Lindsey watched him. "I don't want to go to bed," she said.

"Well it doesn't matter what you want because I'm an adult and you're not," Warrick said, putting the bag down on the coffee table. "Get into bed, cover yourself really well and I'll bring you some noodle soup."

Lindsey slowly did as he said. She couldn't let him think she was actually being obedient. "First thing first," Warrick muttered. He grabbed the biggest pan he could find and took it into Catherine's room. Then he went into the bathroom and picked her up. She whimpered and moved as close as possible to Warrick's body heat. He shook his head at her stupidity. You don't lay on the cold bathroom floor when you're sick.

After getting her situated and putting the pan in her eyesight and easy reach, he went and heated up the soup. The first bowl he took to Lindsey since she was awake. She took one look at the soup and refused.

"Lindsey, you have to eat it," Warrick said firmly.

She shook her head. "No. Just looking at it makes me wanna barf," she whined.

"You need fluids," Warrick said.

Lindsey shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "No way."

They stared at each other in a fierce battle of wills. It was difficult, but Lindsey was no Catherine. Lindsey ate the soup and Warrick sat there the whole time. When she was done, he gave her a glass of water and an asprin.

When Warrick walked into Catherine's room, she was vomitting in the pan. Warrick put the soup, asprin, and water on the night stand and started rubbing soothing circles on Catherine's back.

When she finally stopped, Catherine sat back into Warrick and moaned. "Mmmmm, I think I'm going to die."

Warrick laughed. "You'll be fine. It's probably just the flu or some kind of bug."

"Ugh. I have to call Grissom and tell him I'm sick," she moaned, "And I think--" She lurched forward and started throwing up again in the pan.

"You have to eat," Warrick said, gesturing toward the bowl of soup.

Catherine leaned back just as the doorbell rang. "I'll eat it just so I have something besides my insides to throw up," she said.

Warrick nodded. "Well there you go," he said smartly, "I'm gonna to see who's at the door."

When Warrick opened the door, the boy who was on the doorstep walked in without being invited. "Name's Colt. Which room is Lindsey's?"

Warrick took a threatening step towards the punk-looking boy. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded with a glare.

Colt pushed his chin-length red hair out of his shocking blue eyes. "I brought Lindsey her homework. She's sick, right?" Warrick nodded. "Well..." Colt sighed. "You have absolutely no idea who I am."

Warrick shook his head. "No and right now, I don't really care. You need to leave."

"Come on! I'm Colton Shepard...Lindsey's non-boyfriend? You have to know who I am!"

"What's a non-boyfriend?" Warrick asked.

Colt sighed. "You can _not_ be serious!" Warrick stared at him. "She said she's not my girlfriend but she likes me and we hang out all the time. I can't figure out why she won't be my girlfriend...so I'm her non-boyfriend and she's my non-girlfriend."

"Have you tried asking her?" Warrick asked carefully.

"Of course I..." Colt trailed off. "Well, I ask her out like every day of the week."

Warrick sighed. "Ask her to be your girlfriend...it's the last door at the end of the hall. Leave the door open." He went back to Catherine's room while Colt headed to Lindsey's.

"Who was at the door?" Catherine asked when Warrick laid down beside her.

"Lindsey's non-boyfriend Colt," Warrick answered as he closed his eyes.

Catherine looked over at him. "The boy who hasn't figured out that he has to ask her to be his girlfriend?"

"Yes. That one," he said. Catherine scooted closer and laid her head on his shoulder.

In Lindsey's room, Colt was pulling her homework assignments from his pockets and smoothing them out while Lindsey watched. "You didn't have to bring me my homework you know," Lindsey said with a smile.

Colt glanced at her. "I remembered where you lived from when I followed you home that one time and decided to come by. Then I thought that maybe I should bring an excuse in case your mom answered...who was that guy?"

Lindsey shrugged. "My mom's wannabe boyfriend."

"Speaking of wannabe boyfriends...I just figured something out," Colt said, moving so that their faces were about three inches apart.

"What was that?" Lindsey whispered.

Colt gave her a secret smile before sitting back. "Lindsey Willows," he declared dramatically, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Lindsey laughed. "_You are so_...yes. I will be your girlfriend."

Her laughter drifted down the hall and into Catherine's room. "She's giggling," Warrick said with a nauseous look on his face.

Catherine patted his arm soothingly. "It's okay," she said sympathetically.

Warrick sighed and laid on his stomach so that his face was just mere inches from Catherine's. "Why is it," he said, "that everything Lindsey does bothers me more than it does you?"

Catherine smiled and blinked lazily. "I guess it's because I'm used to Lindsey being Lindsey. I've accepted that she has to grow up sometime even though I don't like it. You..." she trailed off as she reached up and ruffled his hair.

Warrick licked his lips and moved in. Catherine stopped him just shy of kissing her. "I'm sick. You'll get sick. Plus, I've been throwing up all day," she informed him.

He ignored her and kissed her. It was sweet and passionate at the same time. Finally, Catherine forcefully pushed him away and threw up all over the floor beside her bed.

"Well I hope that wasn't aimed toward me," Warrick joked, "I should really be offended by your reaction."

Catherine gave him a dirty look as she wiped her mouth. "You knew I was sick," she said dangerously, "and I hope you get sick too."

Warrick shook his head and scooped her up. He ignored her protests and carried her to the living room couch. "I'll clean up your mess. Just...go to sleep or something."

Lindsey was watching from her doorway. Colt stood beside her. "They're in love, right?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yep," Lindsey said, "I think they have been for a while."

"Poor dude," Colt said, "I'd hate to be dating a Willows girl...oh wait..." He laughed when Lindsey hit him. "I gotta go. My mom's gonna kill me."

Lindsey laughed. "Sure. You just don't like me as much as you said."

"Yeah. That must be it," Colt said seriously. Then he smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

Warrick walked out of Catherine's bedroom with a disgusted look on his face. He glared at Colt as he left. "What is wrong with you?" he asked Lindsey, "Go lay down. As soon as I clean this up, I have to go to work."

Lindsey did as she was told for once in her life. Warrick finished cleaning up the vomit, kissed both his girls goodbye and went to work.

If Grissom was surprised that Warrick was the one to tell him that Catherine was sick, he didn't show it. The very next day, Warrick came down with the same thing Catherine and Lindsey had.

END

A/N-People! The reason it took so long to post is...my phone got shut off! Sorry, but...yeah. Today, it got turned back on...March 20, like three or four months later. Sorry 'bout that. I'll probably post the next chapter tomorrow...have to revise and edit.


	6. First Kiss

**First Kiss**

Catherine sighed and laid her head down. The case they were working on was grating on her nerves...or rather their only suspect was. They were already working well into the morning...it was already 10 a.m. A small boy had fallen down the stairs and died, and the only suspect was his father. He had definitely done it, but there was currently no proof.

"Cath?"

Catherine sat up and turned to Warrick who was looking at her worriedly. "Hey War," she said with a small smile.

He walked over and sat beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

Catherine looked at a school picture of the dead boy. "I don't understand why anyone would want to hurt a child," she finally said, "And he's so cute and looks so much like his father."

Warrick sat there for a few seconds before putting his arms around her. "People are stupid, Cath. They usually don't see how good they have it. I did find a motive though."

Catherine sat back. "What is it?" she asked.

"Money. After his wife died, an insurance policy was drawn up for both Mr. Carter and the son. No one thought much of it since he had one drawn up for himself too, but the one for the little boy was so much that I'm thinking that's why he did it."

"We have no proof," Catherine said gloomily.

"We do though," Sara said from the doorway. Catherine and Warrick looked over at her. "The coroner's report. He didn't fall down the stairs until after he had already died."

"Dead bodies don't fall," Warrick said. "What was the cause of death?"

"He was hit in the back of the neck with enough force to sever the spine."

Catherine's cell phone rang. "Go back to the crime scene and find out what the weapon was," she answered before answering her phone.

Sara left, but Warrick stayed behind to see what was up. Catherine looked pretty angry. "What's going on?" he asked when she was finished with the phone call.

"Lindsey was caught with a boy in the janitor's closet," she answered testily.

Warrick's jaw dropped. "No way." Catherine nodded. "I'm coming with you."

"No. You bring Mr. Carter in and keep him here until Sara can prove that he did it."

Warrick glared at her retreating back as he called Brass. "Yeah. Bring Mr. Carter back in. Getting the proof right now." He hung up and stood there for a minute. He was going to kill Lindsey and whatever boy she was currently dating.

Lindsey knew she was in trouble by the look on her mom's face. Catherine was livid. Thankfully, the principal called them in before Catherine could get a word in edgewise.

"Mrs. Willows," Principal Flanery said, "Lindsey was found in a janitor's closet with a boy, as you know."

Catherine glared at Lindsey. "Yes. What exactly was she doing?"

"I asked her that. She said that they were kissing. Then she said that there wasn't enough room for them to do much else."

Lindsey looked at her mom's hands. It looked like she was about to claw through the leather. "Can I please have a few minutes alone with my daughter?" Catherine asked with barely controlled anger.

Lindsey was quite dismayed when the principal complied. When they were alone, Lindsey turned to Catherine. "Let me explain," she said quickly.

"How are you going to explain this?" Catherine demanded. "Why--What were you--" She stopped and took a deep breath. "One chance. Explain what happened."

"My new boyfriend, Will, said he wanted to talk to me and suggested the janitor's closet. Mrs. Hayes opened the door just as he kissed me. She sent us to the office. Principal Flanery was yelling at me so I snapped and said what I said." She raised her chin defiantly. "We weren't really doing anything wrong."

Catherine pinched the bridge of her nose. "So you were only kissing?" Lindsey nodded.

"There wasn't even any tongue," she insisted.

Catherine cleared her throat. "Right, but you're still going to take any punishment he gives you and you're not to argue."

"Mom--"

"Lindsey, I'm serious. You brought this upon yourself."

The look on Lindsey's face could only be described as down-right petulant. Principal Flannery stuck his head into the office. "Are you finished?"

"Yes," Catherine said with a final warning look at Lindsey.

The man came back in and sat down at his desk. "A line was--"

He was cut off when his office door opened and Warrick stepped in. "Sorry I'm late," Warrick said appologetically. "I was a little held up at work."

Lindsey covered her face to hide her humiliation. Catherine managed to contain any confusion she felt. "This is Warrick Brown. He's..." she trailed off.

"My new dad apparently," Lindsey said under her breath but still loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Warrick was unphased. "What action is being taken for this incident?" he asked without looking at Lindsey.

"In School Suspension for three days and a one-page essay over the rules that were broken today," Principal Flannery said, thinking that the punishment was fair.

Catherine was satisified, Lindsey was horrified, and Warrick was outraged. "That's it?" All eyes in the room went to him. "She," Warrick pointed to Lindsey, "was caught in a janitor's closet with a _boy_. I think they should be...locked in empty rooms on the opposite sides of school!"

Catherine cleared her throat. "Could you excuse us for a few minutes? We apparently need to talk about this."

By Principal Flannery's wide eyes, he agreed. "Just-Just tell me wh-when you're through," he said, edging around Warrick. Warrick looked like someone just killed his favorite animal.

"What is wrong with you?" Lindsey and Catherine exploded at the same time.

There was an awkward moment before Warrick responded. "Hey! I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't kiss anyone in a janitor's closet today!"

"No, you have the breakroom for that," Lindsey retorted angrily. Where did Warrick getting off trying to force the already evil principal to give her worse punishment? Really!

"Lindsey--"

"No!" Lindsey said tersely. "Neither of you are allowed to yell at me or give me the third degree. You used to take your clothes off for a living, and, Warrick, you're not my father. Nothing bad happened today. A teacher walked in at a compromising moment and assumed the worst. And that's exactly what you two did!" She wiped the tears that leaked out. "Why can't you just trust me?"

Warrick felt like the dirt under-foot. Catherine wasn't going to let guilt get in the way though. "Because we know what it's like to be teenagers. I don't want you to have to learn the hard way like I did. Wait until you're ready to have that first kiss, that first moment. Lindsey, there's plenty of temptations now days. Just because there was nothing going on this time doesn't mean that next time there won't be. You're the daughter, I'm the mother." Warrick opened his mouth but when Catherine glared at him, he shut it. "Warrick isn't your father and he's not trying to be. He's looking out for you like one should, but he's not."

Lindsey glared at her, trying to find a loophole somewhere in her mom's reasoning. "Just because you did bad things when you were a teenager doesn't mean I'm going to. I'm not like you."

"And that's a good thing," Catherine said firmly. "I'm just saying that this punishment is fair enough, but we're going to discuss it more at home."

Warrick glanced at Catherine to make sure that she wasn't going to cut him off again. She wasn't. "I'm sorry for assuming the worst, Lindsey. It's just...I remember you when you were little bitty and now you're getting caught in closets with boys." He shrugged apologetically.

Catherine was disgusted when Lindsey's face softened. She was obviously still angry with Catherine, but as soon as Warrick apologized and turned on the puppy-dog eyes, all was forgiven. "Lindsey, tell Principal Flannery we're ready to continue." She glared at Warrick while Lindsey sullenly did as she was told. "Thanks a lot for selling me out," she whispered.

"I didn't sell you out. I just apologized," Warrick said quietly.

Catherine and Warrick stood there while Principal Flannery re-explained the punishment to Lindsey. She took the punishment without protest, and followed Warrick and Catherine out of the office. "I'll see you after school," Catherine said, kissing Lindsey on the cheek.

Lindsey glared at her and hugged Warrick. "Bye 'Rick."

Out in the parking lot, Catherine hit Warrick in the arm. "Hey!" he protested. "It's not my fault I'm a likeable person. You know teenagers hate their parents! I'm just not her parent, that's all."

"It's still not fair."

Warrick laughed as he pulled Catherine into his arms. "It'll be okay. We'll talk about it tonight and have a laugh."

Catherine pushed her cold nose in the crook of Warrick's warm neck. "Yeah right. Lindsey isn't going to forgive me that easily. She'll pout and eat in her room until I get ready to go to work and then she'll ask to stay the night somewhere. I'll refuse because it's a school night and she'll have another reason to be mad at me until tomorrow after school when she crawls into bed beside me."

Warrick kissed the top of Catherine's head. It saddened him that Catherine had the routine down. "I have an idea."

"Tell me about it when we get to my house," Catherine said softly. Warrick pulled away and raised his eyebrows. "Haha. Not like that. I'm tired and I can tell you are too. What happened with the case?"

"The leg of the coffee table. It was easy to get a confession after that so I wasn't needed anymore." He leaned down and kissed Catherine softly. "We don't kiss in the breakroom, but it's not a bad idea."

"Shut up." Catherine playfully pushed him away and opened her car door. Warrick pinned her against the open door and pretended to bite her neck. "We're in a junior high parking lot, Warrick," she said, making no move to push him away.

Warrick kissed her one last time before pulling away. "Meet you at your house?" he asked. She nodded and shut the door before Warrick could change his mind. He was a very distracting man.

Warrick pulled up at Catherine's house at the same time she did. At the door, she could barely get the key in the lock when Warrick pulled her against him and started kissing her neck. Inside, she pushed him against the closed door and they had a rather lengthy makeout session.

When Warrick started inching his hands up the front of her shirt, Catherine pulled away. "Wait. We can't do this now," she said breathlessly.

Warrick moved his hands back down to her waist. "What's wrong?"

Catherine leaned her head against his chest and tried to regain her equilibrium. "I--" She sighed. "I know it's going to sound stupid, but I don't want to rush into things. I don't want to _just_ have sex with you." She wouldn't look at him, but he could tell she was embarrassed by how her ears reddened.

Warrick gently pushed her chin up and looked into her eyes. "I understand," he said softly. "I'm not going to push you into anything until both of us are absolutely ready, okay?"

Catherine nodded. "Come on. We've got about four hours to get some shut eye before Lindsey comes in, trying her hardest to wake us up without actually making it known."

Warrick felt a little awkward slipping into bed with Catherine. He held her in his arms and it felt so right. "This evening we'll have dinner at my place," he said decisively, having forgoten about his "idea" from before.

"Great," Catherine said sleepily.

Warrick smiled as he pulled her closer. They drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

Lindsey came in at about four and tossed her bag on the dining room table. She stomped through the house and slammed her door. After a few minutes of quiet, she slammed back out of her room and stomped to the living room and turned the tv up really loudly. Why should she be lectured about being caught in a janitor's closet with a boy when her mom and Warrick where probably shacking up? When no one came out to yell at her, Lindsey got a little frustrated and threw her mom's door open.

"Go away, Lindsey," Warrick said sleepily. "We're tired."

Lindsey stood at the door and glared at the fully clothed forms. So they weren't shacking up; they were just sleeping. "I hate school," she announced.

"Get out," Warrick ordered crossly. Living off only a couple of hours of sleep per day made him cranky.

"You're not the boss of me," Lindsey said.

Catherine sighed. "We'll be up in a little while. Just give us an hour."

"Leave the door open," Lindsey said patronizingly. She walked away with a satisfied grin on her face. That should leave them pretty angry for a while.

"She treats us like teenagers," Warrick mumbled.

"Yeah," Catherine said, sinking once more into the comfort of his embrace. "We have an hour so let's make the most of it."

Warrick's dirty mind went through the things that they could do in an hour. He groaned. "I need to get home," he said hoarsely.

Catherine sat up on her elbow and looked at him. "You're a bad bad man, Warrick Brown," she said with a lazy smile. "An hour to _sleep_. Just pretend Lindsey hadn't just came barging in."

She turned over on her back so that her hair was spread out on the pillow. "Right. Sleep," Warrick said.

It wasn't that hard to get back to sleep, but an hour later, Lindsey turned the stereo on full blast. "Time to get up," Catherine groaned.

"Yeah," Warrick agreed. Neither made a move to actually get up though. Finally Warrick sighed. "Be at my place in an hour." He got up and kissed Catherine soundly before walking into the living room. "Lindsey, be nice to your mom." He kissed the top of her head and left.

Lindsey smirked to herself. Not a chance.

Later that evening, Catherine and Lindsey walked into Warrick's apartment arguing about whether or not Lindsey should be allowed to stay the night at her friend, Brooke's, house. "No," Catherine said with finality.

Lindsey pouted and noticed her surroundings. It seemed like a very romantic atmosphere, with many candles and the smell of good food. "Warrick!" she yelled. There was no way he could be planning something romantic with her there, right?

Warrick walked out of the kitchen drying his hands with a dish towel. "Are you ready to eat?" he asked.

Catherine stood still while he lightly kissed her. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I just thought it would be nice to sit down to a good home cooked dinner together," Warrick said. "But I should warn you: there will be no fighting at the dinner table. We can discuss the day's events, but the voice level better not get above normal." He directed that last statement toward Lindsey.

"What will you do if it does? Spank me?" Lindsey demanded. He stared at her and she felt like maybe she crossed a line. "Sorry," she muttered.

Catherine rolled her eyes. How did Warrick _do_ that? He made Lindsey apologize with a single look! "Okay. We both agree. What smells so good?"

Warrick smiled. "Sit down at the dinner table." There wasn't actually a dinner table, but the coffee table was covered with a white table cloth and set like one. Catherine and Lindsey took their seats on the floor while Warrick brought out the food.

"I thought you said home cooked," Lindsey said with a smirk.

Warrick shrugged and put the family sized bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicked in the middle of the table. "I made everything else," he said seriously as he went back into the kitchen to bring out the rest of the food.

The rest consisted of mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and macaroni and cheese. "Warrick, this macaroni is gross," Lindsey said.

Catherine glared at her daughter even though she silently agreed. There was no doubt that Warrick had fixed the rest of the food himself.

"Have you even _heard_ of butter?" Lindsey asked.

"Lindsey, stop!" Catherine ordered.

"Voice, Catherine," Warrick reminded her. "I like the macaroni, but everyone tells me it sucks so it doesn't matter. Eat it or don't."

"She'll eat it," Catherine said, giving Lindsey a warning look.

Which she took no heed to. "No, I won't," Lindsey said.

"So Lindsey, do you want to stay here for the night?" Warrick asked quickly.

Both females looked over at him like he was insane. "Hey, don't look at me like that. The woman in the apartment next door has a daughter a little older than her and said she would be happy to get Lindsey to school if we weren't here in time. Lindsey can have the apartment to herself and still have someone keeping and eye on her."

Catherine was dubious, but Lindsey was excited. "Come on, mom! Please?" Even though she knew it hardly helped, she made her eyes wide and looked as cute and innocent as possible.

Catherine glanced at Warrick and was dismayed when she saw him giving her the same look. "It's fine with me, but you had better be in bed at a decent time. I don't want you to get in any more trouble at school."

"Yes, no more sneaking into janitor's closets or bathrooms or locker rooms or empty classrooms with any boys," Warrick said, "I don't care how innocent it was. Next time, I'll kill you and him."

"Right," Lindsey said flatly. Warrick would never harm a single hair on her head and she knew it. "I'm sorry for the way I talked to you earlier." Neither adult was sure who she was talking to so they stayed quiet. "Mom, I know you're just trying to look out for me, but I know right from wrong."

Catherine looked down at her plate and sighed. "I know, but there are things that people will try to push you into, especially boys..."

"A conversation better suited for another time," Warrick said quickly. "A time where I'm not in the vicinity."

Lindsey smiled mischeivously. "I dunno. I mean a girl needs to be educated..."

Warrick glared at her. "All you need to know is boys are scum. Every boy in your school is scum, all the male teachers are scum, I'm scum, Nick's scum, Grissom is scum." At the end of his little rant, Lindsey was doubled over in laughter and Catherine was smiling widely. "I'm not joking! Stay away from them or you'll probably catch some kind of infection!"

Lindsey tried to keep a straight face long enough to say something witty, but she couldn't so she just laughed. "I don't think she's taking this seriously," Warrick said flatly.

"I think you may be right," Lindsey mocked.

Catherine smiled. "You take Lindsey home to get her stuff and I'll take a nap."

"That's not fair," Warrick protested. He didn't mind; he just wanted to give her greif.

"You suggested it, you take her," Catherine countered, taking her plate into the kitchen to the sink.

Lindsey grinned at him. "Let's go, buddy-o."

"Okay," Warrick said morosely.

Catherine rolled her eyes when Warrick kissed her on the cheek. "Stop pretending," she said, "You know you wanted to take her. I just gave you the perfect opportunity." She kissed him full on the mouth. "Go."

Warrick groaned. "See you when we get back." He hated when she kissed him like that then acted innocent. She had to know what she did to him.

In the car, Lindsey turned down the radio and stared at Warrick until he glance at her. "What?" he said.

"You're a good guy," she said.

"Thanks for telling me that. I was starting to doubt myself," Warrick joked.

Lindsey grinned. "I know I might have hurt your feelings earlier today--"

"You didn't hurt my feelings," Warrick protested. Way to cut a man off at the knees!

She continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "But I was just a little mad. This thing tonight was great. I love mom, but talking to her after a big fight is hard. Usually she ignores me so I stay in my room. When I try to make it easier on her and ask to stay the night somewhere else when she goes to work, she doesn't let me. Then she'll get mad at me for something else. We usually make up the next day though. Tonight she wasn't mad at me and we were able to have a civil meal together."

Warrick was trying not to laugh. Catherine and Lindsey had such different views on their fights. Catherine thought Lindsey was mad at her and Lindsey thought Catherine was mad at her. It was pretty funny. "That's me, keeper of the peace between the Willows women."

When they got to their house, Lindsey quickly ran in and got her stuff. The ride back to Warrick's apartment was comfortable and they danced and laughed at the music on the radio.

Warrick walked in first. Catherine had cleaned the dinner dishes and put the left overs away. The candles were all blown out and Catherine was asleep on the couch. "Looks like mom cleaned up," Lindsey said, tossing her backpack underneath the coffee table.

"Yeah," Warrick said softly. He got those home-y feelings when Catherine did things like that. It was difficult to keep his happiness from over-flowing when he got those feelings.

"Ew," Lindsey said, bringing Warrick out of his thoughts. "You have that mushy, I'm-about-to-declare-my-undying-love look on your face."

Warrick glared at the teen. When he felt those feelings, Lindsey sure knew how to keep him grounded. "Go do something in the other room," he ordered.

Lindsey pretended to gag. "Behave yourself. You both need to be at work soon."

Warrick sat on the couch beside Catherine when he was sure Lindsey was out of the room. He grinned to himself and slowly slid his hand up Catherine's blouse. His grin widened when Catherine grabbed his hand. "Warrick," she said warningly, without opening her eyes.

"I was just playing. It's not like I would've actually done it," he lied. His hand was splaid across her flat stomach and he started tickling her.

Catherine's eyes snapped open. "Warrick!" She pushed his hand away and sat up. After a few moments of silence, Catherine stood up and stretched.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Lindsey called. "Are you two decent?"

"No!" Warrick yelled back. He sat back on the couch and smiled when Catherine glared at him.

"Yeah, Lindsey, we're decent," she countered. She glanced at her watch. "And we've gotta go." She kissed Lindsey. "Be good and don't stay up late. I love you."

"I love you too, mom," Lindsey said. She slapped Warrick on the back. "I would just like to say that my principal blames my actions on poor parenting."

Both adults froze and turned to Lindsey. "Excuse me?" Catherine said.

Lindsey was grinning. "He saw you two making out in the parking lot."

"Why are you just telling us this now?" Warrick asked suspiciously.

"I didn't remember until earlier when I was talking to Warrick in the car. Next time, if you really want to be all serious about the punishments and stuff, go somewhere private to makeout."

Catherine just stood there in a shocked sort of silence. Warrick winked at Lindsey and took Catherine's arm. "Come on, Cath. We're gonna be late to work."

Lindsey went into Warrick's room as soon as they were gone and put in a movie. Being independent was great!

A/N: I wanted to sort of relay the teen and parent's side of the story. Catherine and Warrick are getting more involved and Lindsey's getting in more trouble...


	7. First Date part 2

**First Date part 2**

Warrick walked into a suspiciously empty and quiet Willows' house. He looked around in the living room before making his way to the kitchen. The counter blocked his view of the cabinet under the sink so he decided that that room, too, was empty. Catherine's room was empty, the bathrooms were empty, and Lindsey was laying in her room pouting.

He walked into the room as she let out a big belch. "Oh, Linds, that's disgusting. What do you say?"

"Bite me," she muttered.

"What was that?" Warrick asked.

"Go away and leave me alone," she said louder.

Warrick turned his ear toward her. "No. What is it that you say?" he coaxed teasingly.

"How 'bout get out of my room, you're not the boss of me?" Lindsey suggested sweetly.

Warrick winced. "Ouch. Where's your mom?" he asked, thinking that she had something to do with it. When Lindsey's face darkened, he knew he was right.

"She's in the kitchen," Lindsey grumbled. "And you're going to be mad at her too when you find out what she did."

Warrick laughed. "I seriously doubt it."

"Oh yeah?" Lindsey challenged. "She's gonna cancel your date tomorrow night."

Warrick stopped laughing and stared at Lindsey. She looked serious. Even though Catherine and Warrick had been "official" for a while, they hadn't managed to go on a date yet. Their first date was scheduled the next day. "What? Why?"

Lindsey sat up. "My Aunt Martha's bringing her kids tonight." She tried very hard not to pout.

"So? Can't your grandma watch them?" Warrick asked worriedly. He'd been looking forward to the date for far too long for it to be canceled!

Lindsey shook her head. "Martha's bringing them here to get away from life for a while. Her and grandma are going on some kind of spa thingy for the weekend. Grandma knew about the date, that's why she arranged for me to babysit." She finally let her bottom lip protrude a bit. "But mom said I'm too young."

Warrick didn't usually take sides in Catherine and Lindsey's fights, but he felt like Catherine was being unfair to the everyone. "How old are the kids?" he asked.

"Well, Amber's eight, Hannah's two, Nate's one, and the new baby, Jack, is about six months. I know they're young, but Amber usually finds something to occupy Hannah, and Nate follows his sisters around like a lost puppy. I help my friend watch her brothers and sisters all the time, and I think I can do it!"

Warrick was impressed by the mini-speech. "Did you tell your mom that?" he asked. Lindsey nodded angrily. "Well, now it's what? Three against one?" he asked with a smirk.

"Four. Aunt Martha will be on my side," Lindsey said, a smile creeping onto her face. Somehow, she didn't feel the need to tell him that her grandma had said she would get a hundred dollars for babysitting. That is if Catherine were ever to agree to it.

"You said she was in the kitchen?" Warrick asked. "I didn't see her when I came in."

"She's working under the sink. Something's got it all clogged up or something," Lindsey said nonchalantly.

"Linds, what did you do?" Warrick asked.

Lindsey shrugged. "Popcicle sticks don't seem to wash down so well, do they?"

Warrick groaned. "Stay here. I'll try to talk to her for now, but we may need to gang up on her later tonight. When did you say your aunt was coming?" he asked.

"Five or six. She's driving."

Warrick walked into the kitchen and leaned over the counter that had earlier obstructed his view. Catherine was wearing some old clothes while she was working on the plumbing. There was something distinctly sexy about a woman with a wrench.

Careful not to alert her to his presence, Warrick crouched down and laid his hand on her thigh. Catherine jerked up and banged her head on the pipe. Warrick winced as Catherine's curses floated throughout the room.

Catherine eased herself out from under the sink and leaned up against some cabinets. "I'm sorry, Cath," Warrick apologized straight-faced. He wanted to laugh, but he figured Catherine would kick his butt if he did.

Catherine glared up at him, thinking he didn't look very sorry. "Why did you do that?" she asked, rubbing her head where she'd hit it. There was already a lump.

"Hey," Warrick said defensively, "I just wanted to say hello to my girl. It's not my fault you reacted the way you did!" He slid down beside her and gently moved her hand away. "I'll kiss it and make it better."

Catherine looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Warrick asked. He was wondering how to broach to subject of the date.

"Are you gonna kiss it better or not?" Catherine smirked at him.

Sighing in mock-exasperation, Warrick kissed her forehead. "Better?" he asked teasingly. As much as he was trying to hold onto his conviction to be mad at her, he couldn't.

Catherine got a thoughtful look on her face. "The pain seems to have shifted," she said seriously.

Warrick kissed her nose. "There?" She shook her head. He kissed her on the cheek. "There?" Again, she shook her head. He finally kissed her on the lips. She hummed in agreement and pulled him close.

When they finally came up for air, Warrick cleared his throat. "I talked to Lindsey," he croaked.

The wind went straight out of Catherine's sails. "Boy, War, you sure know how to talk to a girl," she said sarcastically. She noted the look on his face. "I take it she told you about my neices and nephews coming?"

Warrick nodded. "Cath, you can't cancel our date," he said firmly.

Catherine stood up. "We don't have a choice--"

"Yes we do," Warrick interrupted. "Let Lindsey babysit."

Catherine snorted. "Right. Warrick, she's just a kid herself."

Warrick too stood up and backed Catherine against the fridge. "Come _on_," he said, nuzzling her neck. "Lindsey's gonna be fourteen soon. If you don't start giving her some responsibilities, she's going to rebel."

Catherine tried to remember exactly why she was canceling the date. Warrick was making her thoughts run together and nothing made sense, including the reason she wasn't allowing Lindsey to babysit. "Umm," she said.

Warrick pulled up and kissed her on the mouth before stepping back. "It's our first date. We'll have our cell phones...if you really want, they can stay at my apartment. Mrs. Hendrix from next door, the one with the daughter a little older with Lindsey, can keep an eye on them."

The fog was clearing from Catherine's head and she glared at Warrick. "You think you're so slick, don't you?" she asked.

Warrick smirked, knowing he was close to winning. "I'll spend the night tonight and help watch the kids. Then tomorrow, I'll take them mini-golfing or something while you do your girly thing with Lindsey."

When Catherine's face softened, he knew he had her. "You're too sweet for your own good," she informed him.

Warrick grinned. "So the date's not canceled?" he asked hopefully.

Catherine shook her head. "No." She smiled ruefully. "It seems your persuasive skills are better than I thought. Do you want to tell Lindsey, or should I?"

"Lindsey!" Warrick bellowed. "She said yes!"

Catherine shook her head when she heard her daughter's squeal. "When I said tell her, I meant to go into her room, not yell across the house."

Warrick just shrugged. "I have a friend that owes me a favor. He can fix your sink for you," he said, pulling out his cell phone.

That night, when Martha pulled up to her big sister's house, all was calm. Warrick and Catherine had explained the rules to Lindsey and the sink had been fixed.

Martha winced when Jack started crying. She honked the horn to get Catherine's attention and carefully picked Jack up. The baby needed his diaper changed. Nate was trying to get out of his safety seat, and Amber was helping Hannah out of hers.

Martha grabbed Jack's diaper bag and turned toward the house. She cried out in surprise. Somehow, Warrick had been able to sneak right behind her without her noticing. "I'm Warrick," he introduced himself.

Martha glared at him and shoved Jack into his arms. "Take him inside and change him," she ordered.

Somehow, Warrick wasn't surprised that he was being ordered around by yet another woman in Catherine's family. Unfortunately, he had little to no knowledge of babies so Catherine had to help him.

As soon as Amber and Hannah saw Lindsey, they followed the girl. Nate was still trying to wiggle his way out of his safety seat and when he found that he couldn't, he started screaming. Martha took pity on him and helped him out. "Your sisters are mean, aren't they?" she asked sympathetically.

Nate nodded and clutched his favorite blanket to his chest. "Mean," he said passionately. Martha tickled him and his giggles filled the air. She kissed his forehead and put him down. He ran after his sisters and Lindsey.

Catherine tapped her sister on the shoulder. "Hey, little sis," she said. Martha's hair was a beautiful deep red and her eyes were green. She was everything Catherine wasn't, a family woman with deep roots and a stable family. For her, there had only been one man since the beginning.

Martha turned and enveloped her big sister in a hug. "Hey Cath," she said happily. "Warrick is better looking than I thought."

Catherine grinned and helped her with the kids' bags. When they walked inside, they found Warrick bouncing Jack, trying to get him to stop crying. Warrick sighed with relief and tried to give the baby back to Martha. She shook her head and backed away. "Nuh uh. I'm going to pick up mom now."

Martha kissed her kids and took their safety seats out of her mini-van before getting in and leaving. Warrick turned to Catherine with a slightly desperate look on his face.

Catherine took pity on him and took Jack. "Look in his diaper bag and find the can of formula. Read the directions and fix his bottle," she ordered as she sat down.

Lindsey was playing tag with Amber, Hannah, and Nate. She was running at an exaggeratedly slow pace because Hannah and Nate were so young. Amber was careful to include their little brother and sister as well.

When Warrick came back with the bottle, warmed to the perfect temperature, Catherine passed Jack back over to him. "Cath!" he protested over Jack's cries.

"You agreed," Catherine said smugly.

Knowing she had him there, Warrick put his feet on the coffee table and propped Jack up on his knees. Pretty soon, Jack was sucking on the nipple like he hadn't eaten in ages.

Nate squealed when Catherine got ahold of him. While Warrick fed the baby, he watched all the kids in amazement. They all looked alike...and they all looked like they could be Catherine's kids. Amber and Hannah were both blonde, but Hannah had green eyes and Amber had blue eyes. Both of the boys' hair was red, Nate's a few shades lighter than Jack's fuzz and both of their eyes were blue.

Lindsey had Amber and Hannah pinned, tickling them until they cried mercy. It was such a normal scene.

By the end of the night, Warrick was laying on the floor with Nate curled on his right side, Hannah between him and Catherine and Lindsey and Amber sleeping on Nate's right side. Jack was asleep in his carseat beside Catherine.

"It's a good thing I brought all the blankets and pillows out here," Catherine whispered into the silent darkness. Although Warrick's right arm was around Nate, Catherine was laying in such a way that their hands were entertwined.

"Yeah," Warrick agreed quietly.

"They're very taken to you," Catherine commented. If the lights were on, everyone would be able to see how her eyes shone with adoration.

Warrick turned his head. It was dark in the room, but he could make out Catherine's silhouette in the darkness. "They're great kids." He wasn't going to admit how taken with them he was. It made him think of the possibility of his own kids with Catherine's looks and his charm.

They let themselves be lulled into a comfortable silence. "Thank you," Catherine whispered as Warrick started to drift off.

"For what?" Warrick asked sleepily.

"Being so great. Convincing me to go on the date. Having more confidence in my daughter than I do," Catherine said. The list was endless, but that was to name a few.

Warrick smiled lazily as he fell asleep. "I love you," he mumbled.

Catherine's eyes opened wide and she laid awake well into the night until Jack started making noises like he was going to cry. Then she took him into the other room and fed him and rocked him and burped him and generally stayed with him the entire night even when he was asleep. She managed to get sleep when he did, but in the morning, when Warrick came in, Jack was chewing on Catherine's hair and she was fast asleep.

"Come on, little man," Warrick said quietly.

Lindsey helped Warrick get the kids ready for a day out while Catherine slept. When Warrick left to go wherever he was going, she curled up beside her mom and went back to sleep.

At around noon, Catherine woke up abruptly and noticed the empty bed. "Jack!" she said in a panicked voice.

Lindsey walked in with a glass of juice. "Warrick took them out." She sat down beside her mom. "He's gonna make a good dad someday."

Catherine avoided her daughter's eyes. "Yeah," she said vaguely. "Did he say what they were doing?"

"Yep. He had the whole day planned actually. Right now, they would be having lunch at Chuck-E-Cheese...probably will be for a few hours. Then to some kiddy-carnival until around six when he's dropping them off here to get things prepared for the big date. He'll be here to pick us up at seven." She grinned at how romantic Warrick could be.

Catherine scrubbed her hand over her face and groaned. "Lindsey..." She shook her head. "What are we supposed to do all day?"

"Shop?" she suggested hopefully.

Catherine nodded reluctantly. Her daughter was definitely right. She needed the perfect outfit. "Did he say if it was supposed to be casual or not?"

"He said to dress up and to wear your dancing shoes," Lindsey said immediately. Then she winced. That's not what he said. He said _comfortable_ shoes. "Umm."

Catherine noticed the guilty look on Lindsey's face. "Let me guess. The dancing part was supposed to be a surprise?" Lindsey nodded. "It's okay. I already figured that out."

While the ladies headed out for a day of shopping, Warrick was sorely regretting taking the kids out. Hannah and Nate were _mean_ little kids. They were at Chuck-E-Cheese eating pizza. While everyone had their lunch, Jack let it be known that he was hungry too. Warrick fixed his bottle with one of the bottles of water Lindsey had so graciously packed and put a blanket under the bottle so Jack could eat while everyone else was eating. Warrick turned away for a second to stop Hannah from pouring coke down her front, and Jack started wailing again.

Warrick carefully put the coke out of Hannah's reach and turned to put the bottle back in place. He was perplexed to discover that the bottle was nowhere in sight. Then he noticed Nate happily sucking away at the formula.

"He does that a lot," Amber said solemnly, not the least bit fazed by her baby brother's cries.

Warrick took the bottle away from Nate and gave it back to Jack and winced when something cold was dumped into his lap. He turned to Hannah who was smiling innocently. She'd stood up in her seat to get the drink and almost had it to her lips when she dropped it on Warrick.

"_She_ does _that_ a lot," Amber said. Warrick got the distinct impression, from the look on her face as she took a bite of her pizza, that she was making fun of him.

Warrick stood up to get napkins and had to stop himself from barreling into Hannah who had somehow made it down from her seat. She held out her arms to be picked up. Warrick shook his head and one-handedly lifted her back onto the bench. "Stay," he ordered.

When he turned away, something hit his back. Closing his eyes breifly to calm himself down, Warrick turned back around and glared at the three perfectly angelic faces. It was only the slightly guilty look in Amber's eyes that gave her away. "Why don't you three go play?" he suggested.

They didn't need to be told twice. Warrick hurried over and grabbed a handful of napkins, keeping an eye on the four kids as best he could. After a few hours of sitting with Jack, watching the kids play, Warrick decided it was time to go. Nate did not want to leave, but Amber convinced him that Warrick would take him somewhere even better.

Warrick strapped all the kids down and drove them to the carnival.

Catherine finally found the perfect dress and the perfect shoes and was ready to go. Lindsey, on the other hand, insisted she get some jewelry to go with the outfit. "No," Catherine said firmly.

"Accessorizing is important," Lindsey reminded her mom.

"No, it's not," Catherine retorted. "Come on, Lindsey." Rolling her eyes in disgust, Lindsey followed her mom to the car.

At six o'clock exactly, Warrick pulled up to the Willows' house. He had been tempted to just leave the kids at the carnival, but he figured Catherine would probably murder him. No one would ever know what ever happened either.

Lindsey came out as Amber tried to get Hannah from her carseat. The way Warrick did it was _so_ not that way her mom did it. Lindsey smirked at the look on the younger girl's face and helped Nate out first. Warrick was so glad Jack was asleep. He didn't think he could take another round of 'guess what's wrong with me' from the baby.

"I'll see you later, baby girl," Warrick promised.

Lindsey smirked at how relieved he was to be leaving them with her. "Yeah. See ya."

An hour later, Catherine was running around trying to get ready. Her hair was curled and her makeup was perfect. She was perfectly dressed...but she forgot where she put her shoes. She ran into the living room with a slightly panicked look on her face. "Lindsey, have you seen..."

"The shoes around under the kitchen table," Lindsey said.

Catherine sighed with relief. "Thanks, Linds."

She was bending over to put her shoes on when Warrick walked in. "Honey, I'm home!" he called. He stopped when he saw Catherine. "Wow." Catherine was wearing a strapless blue dress that flared at the bottom and brought out her eyes. The black strappy heels made her a little taller than usual. She made the dress look good.

Catherine stood up on suddenly unsteady legs. "Hey," she said lamely.

"You look beautiful," Warrick said, awkwardly holding out the bouquet of pink roses.

Lindsey was howling with laughter over how awkward they were acting around each other. For cryin' out loud, they were totally in love with each other and had been together for a while! "Are we going or not?" she demanded after she managed to stop laughing.

Warrick dragged his eyes away from Catherine. "What?"

"To your apartment? I thought that's where we were going for the night," Lindsey said slowly.

"Oh. Right!" Warrick said quickly. Nate wrapped his arms around Warrick's legs and Warrick picked the little boy up. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Nate nodded enthusiastically. "Lindsey," Catherine said.

Lindsey nodded. "On it." She picked up Jack's carseat. "Come on kids. Follow me." Warrick put Nate down and watched fondly as the little motley crew made its way outside.

"You look great," Catherine said to Warrick. He was wearing slacks and a nice dress shirt with the top two buttons unbutton.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Warrick leered.

The awkwardness melted away and Catherine rolled her eyes. "Keep your eyes in your head, Brown," Catherine said, sauntering past him. Warrick watched her go before picking up the kids' bags of clothes and locking the door behind him. It was going to be a long night.

Warrick and Catherine dropped the kids off, Warrick talking breifly with Mrs. Hendrix from next door. Then they were off. The first thing they did was head to dinner.

"Names, sir?"

Catherine looked around the fancy restaurant while Warrick talked to the man about their reservations. They were led to a table with a perfect view of the rest of the restaurant. "Wow, Warrick," Catherine teased. "I'm impressed."

Warrick smiled softly and took her hand. "You should be," he said with a mock-serious look. "I had to sell some vital organs to pay for this."

While it was obvious that he was joking, Catherine's face showed worry at the expense. "Warrick--"

"Don't worry, Cath," Warrick said cheerfully. "They weren't mine." Catherine gave him a perturbed look and he rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding. I have plenty of money to spend on a perfect night out. Just...relax and enjoy yourself."

Just as he said that, her cell phone rang. It was Lindsey. "What's wrong?" Catherine said automatically. She could hear two sets of cries in the background.

"Well, Nate kinda fell onto the coffee table and banged his chin up, but that's not why I'm calling. Jack will _not_ stop crying!"

Catherine's look was deadpan. "Lindsey, you volunteered," she reminded her daughter.

Warrick took the phone from Lindsey. "Go next door and ask Mrs. Hendrix if her daughter, Kendra, can help you watch them. I know she has some babysitting experience. Don't call back unless it's a dire emergency." He hung up the phone and gave it back to Catherine.

Catherine fidgeted. "What if--"

Warrick cut her off. "Lindsey's fine," he said firmly. "If there's a real emergency, she'll call."

Catherine looked doubtful, but she decided to let it drop. "So, did you have fun with the kids today?"

Warrick groaned. "I think they were trying kill me," he said seriously. "How can such cute kids be such nightmares?" He shook his head, thinking of Lindsey. "Don't answer that."

Catherine grinned, knowing what he was thinking. "Did they use the puppy dog eyes too often? I keep telling them that if they use them too often, people will get annoyed. When people get annoyed, the develop immunity." She tried to be serious. "It's a secret, spur of the moment kind of immunity, but it's very effective."

Warrick shook his head at Catherine's downright silliness. "Come on, let's order," he said, catching the waiter's attention.

The rest of the dinner was spent in conversation ranging from happy and delightful to soft and intimate. As the dinner wound down, Catherine decided to bring up the subject she had been avoiding. "Warrick, last night when you were drifting off to sleep, do you remember what you said?"

Warrick thought about it. "The last thing I remember is you thanking me," he said truthfully.

Catherine felt very disappointed. "Well...you said you loved me," she said bluntly.

Warrick froze. "Umm," he said. It was a poor excuse for a stalling tactic and they both knew it. He looked into her wide eyes before looking away and shifting uncomfortably.

Catherine felt bad for putting him on the spot, but she had to know. "Do you love me or not?"

"I--" his voice broke. He cleared his throat. "Cath..." There was a breif silence. "Yes."

At first he was afraid to look at her, but, when he finally did look up, he saw a look of pure euphoria on her face. "Well," she said matter-of-factly. "That's good because I love you too."

Warrick gave her a disgusted look as he signaled for the check. The amusement on his face was clearly tangible and she knew he wasn't really disgusted. "Ready for a surprise?"

"Dancing?" Catherine asked eagerly.

"Lindsey," Warrick muttered.

Catherine grinned. "I'd like to think you had better faith in me as a CSI than that. You're not very subtle," she reminded him.

When Catherine and Warrick finally got back to his apartment at around one o'clock, they found everyone asleep...that is, everyone except a teenage girl with long brown hair and green eyes. "Hey Kendra," Warrick said quietly.

"Have a nice date?" Kendra asked cheerfully. She looked perfectly comfortable with Jack in her arms.

Warrick rolled his eyes playfully. "Yes," he said. "How much do I owe you?"

Kendra seemed to think about. "Full access to your apartment this summer," she finally said.

"That bad?" Warrick asked. He watched as Catherine covered all the kids up with blankets from the fully stocked linen closet.

"No. I just don't want to go to Arkansas."

Warrick stared at the girl. He knew she was a bit of a handful, but overall, she was pretty good. "Okay," he relented. "You're free to go home now."

She stood up and carefully laid Jack in his carseat. "Catch ya later," she called softly as she went back to her own apartment.

"Who was that?"

"The girl next door," Warrick said, somehow getting the feeling that he'd just given trouble a permanent invite.

"Right," Catherine said doubtfully.

"Let's go to bed," Warrick said mischeivously. Catherine gave him a good thump. "Now whose mind is in the gutter? I was talking about sleep, woman."

Catherine rolled her eyes. Yeah, right.

END

AN: Yep. It was purely for the Catherine/Warrick. Kendra will definitely play a roll later on. I need to know about high school parties...involving booze and high school-ish stuff. I'm a freshman and haven't yet experienced the joys of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Just kidding (about the joy part, not the experience part)


End file.
